Windshield wiper



Sept. 17, 1963 L. GoLUB ETAL 3,103,687

WINDSHIELD WIPER Filed Aug. 3. 1960 INI/NTORJ [P0 pi/d Max Zaz' @7' WW M aan United States Patent O 3,103,687 WINDSHIELD WILER Leo Golub, Marblehead, and Max Zeiger, Swampsc'ott, Mass., assignors, by direct and mesne assignments, to said Max Zager Filed Aug. 3, 1960, Ser. No. 66,382

4 Claims. (Cl. 152501.42)

This invention relates to windshield wipers `for vehicles and especially to an improvement therein which enables ease in replacement of worn-out or damaged squeegees.

The principal object of the invention is to provide for easy replacement of squeegees of long windshield wiper blades of the kind currently used on curved windshields without dismantling the supporting bows or any of the assembly associated therewith.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary elevation of a wiper blade assembly with a latch at the outer end of one of the blade supporting arms;

PIG. 2 is an elevation of the latch at one end ot the assembly for retaining the blade in place and permitting removal for replacement;

FIG. 3 is an elevation, in section, of an alternative form of latch; and

FIG. 4 is a transverse section taken on the line 4 4 of HG. 3.

Referring to the figures, there is shown a blade comprising a squeegee 12, a back y14 to which the squeegee is anchored, a pair of supporting arms `164-16 with which the end portions of the back are slidably engaged, and a bow 18 to the ends of which the arms 16 are pivo-tally connected. The bow 18 has at its center 'a latch plate 20y by which it is detachably mounted on the end of a wiper arm of conventional construction.

Each arm 16 has at its underside pairs of downwardly and inwardly extending lugs 28-28 The squeegee 12 has Ia wedge-shaped body 30l and a head l32 along the back, adapted to be anchored to the back 14 which is a thin, flexible strip of metal, the edges of whichv rest on the inwardly extending portions of .the lugs 28-28 so that the blade is movable lengthwise.

In accordance with this invention, to make replacement of the blade easy without dismantling the assembly, the outer end of at least one of the arms 16 is provided with a cap 40 pivotally attached thereto which, in its operative position, lies opposite the end of the blade and forms an abutment which prevents endwise movement of the blade and, when elevated, permits the blade to be withdrawn. A pair ot dimples 42 are formed in the walls of the caps so as to have engagement with holes in the walls ot the arm to latch the cap in its operative position but to release the same by upward pressure.

FIGS. 3 and 4 show an alternate form wherein the cap 40 has legs 41 disposed internal-ly of the arm with shouldered nubs 43- extending through the heads of. T-shaped slots 45 in the walls of the arm. The shoulders may be disengaged from the heads of Ithe slots bypressing inwardly on the nubs. The nubs are then free to move along the legs of the slots and to pivot therein so that the cap can be tilted upwardly as shown in FIG. 3.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modications and equivalents which fall the scope of the appended claims.

We claim:

fl. A windshield wiper of the kind in which a pair of arms pivotally mounted at the ends of a bow support a ilexible blade, means on the arms with which the back of the blade is slidably engaged for holding the blade in position with its wiping edge engaged with the surface of the windshield, and means at the outer ends of the arms disposed opposite the ends of the blade for constraining the latter against endwise movement, one off said means being movably mounted and movable to a position out of alignment with the end of the blade to permit withdrawal of the latter.

2. A windshield wiper accord-ing to claim 1, wherein one of said means is a xed abutment at the outer end of one of the arms and the other is a pivoted abutment at the outer end of the other arm, said xed and pivoted abutments collectively preventing endwise movement of the blade, and means releasably holding the pivoted abutment in operative position.

3. A windshield wiper according to cl-aim 1, wherein said movable one of said means has an end wall disposed transversely of the end of the arm, integral, spaced parallel legs extending therefrom Yalong the outer sides of the arm, by means of which the end wall is pivotally supported on the arm, and a lip at the lower edge of the wall affording means for moving it to a position out of alignment with the end of the arm.

4. A windshield wiper according to claim l, wherein the sides of the arm have T-shaped slots therein, saidA movable one of said means has an end wall disposed transversely of the end of the arm, spaced parallel legs extending therefrom along the inner sides ol the arm, shouldered nubs at the inner ends of the arms extending through the heads of the slots, yieldably supported therein by the arms, the shoulders being displaceable from the headsl of the slots, and the nubs movable linearly and angularly in the legs of the slots to permit movement of the wall away from the end of the arm, and a lip at the upper end of the wall adapted, by engagement with the top of the arm, to position the wall opposite the end thereof.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,687,544 Scinta Aug. 3l, 1954 2,782,443 Krohm Feb. 26, 1957 2,814,820 Elliott et al. Dec. 3, 1957 2,861,289 Nesson Nov. 25, )1958 2,897,529 Krohm Aug. 4, 1959 2,924,839 Anderson Feb. 16, 1960 2,937,393 Brueder May 24, 1960 FOREIGN PATENTS 803,354 Great Britain Oct. 22, 1958 838,316 Great Britain June 22, 1960 1,228,119 France Mar. 14, 1960 

1. A WINDSHIELD WIPER OF THE KIND IN WHICH A PAIR OF ARMS PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT THE ENDS OF A BOW SUPPORT A FLEXIBLE BLADE, MEANS ON THE ARMS WITH WHICH THE BACK OF THE BLADE IS SLIDABLY ENGAGED FOR HOLDING THE BLADE IN POSITION WITH ITS WIPING EDGE ENGAGED WITH THE SURFACE OF THE WINDSHIELD, AND MEANS AT THE OUTER ENDS OF THE ARMS DISPOSED OPPOSITE THE ENDS OF THE BLADE FOR CONSTRAINING THE LATTER AGAINST ENDWISE MOVEMENT, ONE OF SAID MEANS BEING MOVABLY MOUNTED AND MOVABLE TO A POSITION OUT OF ALIGNMENT WITH THE END OF THE BLADE TO PERMIT WITHDRAWAL OF THE LATTER. 